Chapter 136: Asher is Stabbed While Saving Cecilia

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Asher is Stabbed While Saving Cecilia

Someone once said Asher was a psycho who liked to collect animal corpses and put them under glass domes.

I didn’t believe it back then, but the scene before me was truly shocking.

The shelves were lined with one glass dome after another. Inside them were butterfly "corpses"—or specimens, as they’re called.

There were blue butterflies, black ones, multicolored ones...

And in a glass case on the bottom shelf, a taxidermy cat lay peacefully.

A small dog, a snake, a hamster...

"Scared?" Seeing me go stiff, a sheen of sweat on my forehead, Lucas Grant sneered. "He’s a pervert. He loves turning the things he likes into taxidermy and putting them in glass cases. You should understand how Cecilia Caldwell died now, right?"

Lucas Grant was convinced Asher was the one who killed me.

I knew Lucas Grant only took this case because he wanted to beat Asher. He was here looking for clues.

"In any murder, there’s no such thing as a perfect crime. I will find clues and evidence. If he really did kill someone, I won’t show him any mercy," Lucas Grant said in a low voice.

’He was going to personally send Sebastian Lancaster to prison.’

"No... Sebastian Lancaster wouldn’t kill Cecilia Caldwell. He said Cecilia was his beloved..." I whispered, my heart starting to race in panic as I shook my head repeatedly.

Lucas Grant sneered. "You really are naive! Silvia Lynch, why do you think I brought you here to see this? I’ve investigated you. You’re not a complete lost cause yet. But if you stay with Sebastian Lancaster, you will die. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that imitating Cecilia Caldwell will make him develop feelings for you. The day he develops feelings for you will be the day you die!"

"I won’t believe you..." My hands were shaking in panic. I turned to leave.

But Lucas Grant grabbed the back of my collar, forcing me to look at the butterfly specimens. "Do you know how these specimens are made? He trapped these creatures in glass prisons before they were even dead. When I was fifteen, I was curious about this psycho, so I followed him here. Do you know what he was doing?"

’He had trapped a butterfly in a glass case. As he watched it flutter its wings, the surprise and excitement in his eyes were terrifying!’

’Back then, Lucas Grant had been genuinely terrified by Sebastian Lancaster.’

"He kept muttering ’Success, success.’ Is trapping an animal you like and watching it die something to be happy about?" To this day, Lucas Grant still couldn’t get over it or understand.

"He’s a psycho..." Lucas Grant’s voice was low.

"I don’t believe you..." I shoved Lucas Grant away and turned to run.

But just as I ran out of the basement, someone lunged at me with a knife.

"AHH!"

Just as I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking I was going to die again, a strong, familiar figure pulled me into a tight embrace, shielding me.

The thick scent of blood immediately followed.

"Freeze!" Lucas Grant had chased after me. Seeing the assault, he rushed forward and pinned the attacker to the ground.

Trembling, I opened my eyes to see Asher’s, filled with worry.

"Cece..." Asher looked at me in alarm, cupping my face with his hands and searching my eyes. "Are you hurt?"

In that instant, as if overwhelmed by the shock and the feeling of being wronged, I burst into a wail.

Asher pulled me into his arms in a panic, holding me tight.

"Shit..." Over by the attacker, Lucas Grant swore with a mix of guilt and irritation. "Stop with the lovey-dovey crap. You’re hurt, you psycho..."

Only then did Asher seem to realize. He looked down at his side. A patch of dark red was spreading—blood.

’He’d been stabbed while protecting me... yet he seemed to feel no pain at all.’

My gaze fell on his wound, and I frantically tried to cover it. "Asher... Asher, does it hurt? Let’s go to the hospital. We have to go to the hospital."

’Instead of worrying about his own injury, he seemed more worried that I was frightened.’

He pressed one hand to his wound and held me against him with the other. "It’s fine. Don’t be afraid. It didn’t hit anything vital. The wound isn’t deep, and the bleeding isn’t fast or heavy. The police and ambulance will get here before I pass out."

’He always seemed to calculate everything with such precision, always so confident and in control.’

I cried in a panic, helplessly pressing my hands to his wound.

The police rushed in and took the attacker away, and the ambulance arrived right away.

’It was as if Asher had calculated that someone would get hurt.’

"You knew someone was going after Silvia Lynch, so you called an ambulance in advance?" Lucas Grant asked, a challenging note in his voice. He felt there was more to it. He’d been very careful. The attacker might have followed him, but it was also possible they had been tailing Silvia Lynch from the moment she left and followed her all the way here.

"The ambulance... I called it for you," Asher said in a low voice, looking coldly at Lucas Grant.

I watched as a flicker of fear crossed Lucas Grant’s cold, proud eyes. He was clearly still afraid of Asher.

"You brought my wife here without my permission. Next time, you’ll be the one riding in an ambulance." Asher let me keep pressure on his wound as he covered my ears with his hands and swore. "Dumbass..."

’...’ ’Actually, even though he covered my ears, I still heard him curse.’

’And it was a pretty nasty curse word.’

In the ambulance, I saw Lucas Grant lose his composure. If a police officer hadn’t been holding him back, he would have lunged over to start a fight.

But it was obvious he was just letting the officer hold him back. He was clearly scared, yet he still had to shout, "Don’t hold me back! I’m going to kill this psycho today!"

Then, the young officer actually listened and let him go. At that, Lucas Grant quieted down, gritted his teeth, and sat back down. He then lectured the officer beside him with a haughty air. "Hmph. If a dog bites you, you don’t bite it back."

"The wound is fine. It’s not deep. The bleeding has mostly stopped," Asher soothed when he saw I was still pale.

I looked up at him. He was the one who was hurt, yet he was the one comforting me.

"That idiot doesn’t understand the situation we’re in. Master Lancaster is getting desperate. He’s bound to make a move," Asher said quietly. He seemed very different from his usual self.

’Was he afraid I would worry?’

’Right now, he seemed mature and steady. It felt unfamiliar, but I didn’t dislike it.’

’It was as if this was how he was always meant to be—a master strategist, pulling all the strings.’

"How was I supposed to know what’s going on with your Lancaster family? So many people want you dead," Lucas Grant muttered. But this time, it was clearly his mistake.

"Ian Grant, don’t let there be a next time." As we got out of the ambulance, Asher warned Lucas Grant in a low, deep voice.

’Lucas Grant’s original name was Ian Grant. It seemed Asher didn’t like calling him Lucas Grant.’

Lucas Grant frowned, feeling the heavy threat in his words.

I instinctively looked back at Asher. The way he’d just threatened someone... it was truly terrifying.

But he could always switch back in a second. He clung to me pitifully. "Cece... I’m a little dizzy now. Hold me."

’Yep, his cool act never lasts more than three seconds.’

"Cece... it hurts so much." When the doctor and nurse came to treat his wound, he clung to me tightly, looking pitiful and scared. "Cece, I’m scared."

’...’ ’Is he only just now realizing he should be scared?’

’Maybe his reaction time is just a little slow.’

Filled with guilt, I hugged Asher and patted his back. "I’m here with you."

"Don’t be fooled by him! Him, scared? The one who should be scared is the attacker I pinned down!" Lucas Grant pointed a trembling finger at Asher, so angry he was momentarily speechless.

"Mr. Grant, stop making baseless accusations against my husband. I will believe him unconditionally," I said with a frown.

Asher’s lips curved into a smirk, his eyes darkening as he looked at Lucas Grant in open provocation.

Lucas Grant clenched his fists in anger. "You’ll regret this."